Terrier World Sporting Lucas Litters

Sporting Lucas	My Introduction To Sporting Lucas Terriers By Colin Williams
Breeders Puppies Breed Standard Site Links	My introduction to the Sporting Lucas Terrier. I am no dog expert but since the age of 5, many years ago, I have had terriers. My last dog was a long haired Jack Russell. Not wired haired but similar in looks to an SLT. This bitch was different to the other Jack Russells, she did not wander, was trainable and retrieved game. She was called Muffin. Up to this point I’d done some rough shooting and occasional beating and my relatively untrained dogs were fine, but this past 10 years I have started to do much more pheasant beating and I shoot on a small local shoot. All my shooting friends have spaniels, labs and other breeds of ‘conventional’ gundogs. I had almost made up my mind to go for a cocker after Muffin when someone on our shoot mentioned to me that he had read about a new breed of terrier that would work on pheasant shoots. I was fascinated that there could be a terrier that would suit my changing needs. I found the SLT website and eagerly read up about these little dogs. At that point I didn’t realise that the ‘club’ and the ‘association’ were different and I contacted both and received literature and support. I liked what I was hearing. The only pup I could find was 200 miles away in Leicestershire. SLTs are VERY rare in Somerset where we live. I contacted the family selling the pup and without delay we headed north. At this point we had never seen an SLT in the flesh, only photographs. We agreed that, even having driven 200 miles, if we didn’t like what we saw we would come home empty handed. We needn’t have worried. We arrived at Mr & Mrs Hughes’ house and were invited out into the garden where we were greeted by not one but two SLTs, the dog and the bitch. We were both taken by these friendly little dogs and surprised just how similar they looked to Muffin. I wonder now whether Muffin was a pure JRT (if there is such a thing) or whether she was part SLT for I now know that not only did she look similar but her behaviour was also similar. We drove the 200 miles back to Somerset with our new pup. Bramble had come to Somerset. Nobody locally had heard of the breed. She was called a Jack Russell, a mongrel and even a Shih Tzu. Even the Vets had to add the breed to their data base. My shooting friends despaired that I had got another terrier and that I hoped to work it on pheasant shoots. Training started straight away. The first week after inoculations I took Bramble out into the fields behind us and fired a box of .410 cartridges into the air. I have always done this as soon as I get a new pup. They soon get used to the bangs and I have never had a gun-shy dog. Basic commands were taught over the next couple of months and all seemed to be going well. Then the problem started. As we walked around the fields about once in every four trips out Bramble would take off. She would ignore the whistle and the voice commands and would disappear out of site. My heart was in my mouth. Would the pup come back? What would she do if she came across a badger set (our whole area is covered in badger sets and it has always been nightmare of mine that one of my dogs would ‘go to earth’ down a set and either not come out or come out with half its face missing). Bramble always did come back, eventually, but then I had to revert to going back to basic training and even that was on the end of a long piece of rope. I soon realised that was not the best idea and took advice from several people. Eventually, although initially I was far from happy about doing so, I bought a UK legal electric training collar. These are not the nasty ones that can be bought on the internet that almost fry the poor dog but the legal ones which you can set to the lowest level and the dog receives just a small tickle, but enough to remind it. This is also linked with a ‘beeping’ sound and the dog very soon responds to the ‘beep only’ button. Bramble was soon back under control. She now loves her collar and knows if it is put on then she is going working. Bramble is now 95% under whistle control and the ‘beep’ is used for 95 % of the rest of the time. Only if she takes off in pursuit of a deer and heads towards a road is the ‘zap’ button used, but I’m sure that will come in time. By the time Bramble was 9 months old the Pheasant season was upon us. Those ‘in the know’ had warned me NOT to work a dog too young so Bramble accompanied me on beating days to get used to the other dogs, the sights and the smells but she was always kept on a long extending lead. It was a little frustrating as a cocker, the same age as Bramble, was being used to work on one shoot and seemed to be doing well. I was determined to do the right thing and the interesting thing is that, one year on, the cocker is now ignoring commands and running well ahead of the beating line. The owner is now having to revert to a training collar out of desperation. During the second summer Bramble accompanied me every day for up to half an hour in the fields behind us. Sometimes we just walked and did some training and sometimes I would take a gun. I had her retrieving some pheasant wings that I had kept but she totally ignored pigeon wings. We then moved on to shooting rabbits. Small rabbits she would readily retrieve but some of the large ones were too heavy and bramble would resort to dragging them back. Retrieving was still not 100% but it was pretty good. Amazingly I found that if I sat for 10 to 15 minutes at dusk waiting for rabbits to emerge then Bramble would sit by me. This dog had patience! Eventually, at the age of 21 months the Pheasant season came round again. This would be Bramble’s first one as a ‘working’ dog. Armed with the whistle and the training collar Bramble and I set off on several shoots. Some we beat on and one I shot on. When beating Bramble would readily ‘flush’ birds but surprisingly, when I was shooting and standing outside of the woods, Bramble would stand with me watching the sky avidly for any signs of emerging birds. She soon learnt to identify game birds and ignored things like blackbirds. Then she learned to detect when a bird had been hit and not bother fruitlessly chasing unshot birds across open fields. Another surprise came early on in the season. A pigeon flew out and was shot, but it flew on for a long way down the valley. Bramble took off. Having ignored all of the pigeon wings the previous summer I knew that she would not retrieve this hit bird. I was wrong for she came back with it in her mouth and handed it over. And so the season went on. This little dog soon learnt to flush well and to retrieve. The retrieving is still not 100% but it is still early days. On a ‘beaters day’ at the end of the season four shot pheasants landed close to me. Bramble retrieved three of them but would not bring back the forth. She just rolled it over and left it. Why? And what of my shooting friends? They are certainly not laughing now. Having seen Bramble work there is a deafening lack of criticism. Despite being told that a terrier is bound to yap when working she works in total silence. Quietly one or two of them have told me that I must be very pleased with Bramble’s performance in her first working season. That is praise indeed. What of the future? Bramble was mated to one of Leon Robinson’s dogs, Buster, and in late June 2 dog pups were born. They are lovely looking pups, both with white bodies, one with a black head and tail and the other with a brown head and tail. We were hoping for a bitch so that we could keep one back, but I don’t think keeping entire mother and son would work, so we’ll try again next year. The first thing was to get the pups docked and dew clawed. Our normal vets will not do it, despite me offering shotgun and firearms licences but I found another local vet who was happy to help and at 6 weeks he will also chip them. For now we are enjoying having the pups which have just opened their eyes and hopefully soon will start on solid food. Bramble still has some points to learn or improve upon but I am pleased with her progress so far. Personally I can see a real future for this breed as gundogs. I have always been concerned about terriers going to earth in my area because of the numbers of badgers. Badgers will kill or badly wound a terrier and I have no wish for any dog of mine to end up like that. I know that ‘the willingness to go to earth’ is seen by some as a ‘desirable characteristic’, but for me I see the future in working above ground. It is still early days but Bramble is certainly the most controlled terrier that I have owned, the most adaptable and the most patient. She is a wonderful family member and proved to be an excellent mother. It will be interesting to see how, with time, her wisdom and experience moulds her. It will also be interesting to see how she works with another SLT when we eventually get one to keep. Colin Williams Go To Top Of Page

Sporting Lucas

My Introduction To Sporting Lucas Terriers By Colin Williams

Breeders Puppies

Breed Standard

Site Links

My introduction to the Sporting Lucas Terrier.

I am no dog expert but since the age of 5, many years ago, I have had terriers. My last dog was a long haired Jack Russell. Not wired haired but similar in looks to an SLT. This bitch was different to the other Jack Russells, she did not wander, was trainable and retrieved game. She was called Muffin.

Up to this point I’d done some rough shooting and occasional beating and my relatively untrained dogs were fine, but this past 10 years I have started to do much more pheasant beating and I shoot on a small local shoot. All my shooting friends have spaniels, labs and other breeds of ‘conventional’ gundogs. I had almost made up my mind to go for a cocker after Muffin when someone on our shoot mentioned to me that he had read about a new breed of terrier that would work on pheasant shoots.

I was fascinated that there could be a terrier that would suit my changing needs. I found the SLT website and eagerly read up about these little dogs. At that point I didn’t realise that the ‘club’ and the ‘association’ were different and I contacted both and received literature and support. I liked what I was hearing.

The only pup I could find was 200 miles away in Leicestershire. SLTs are VERY rare in Somerset where we live. I contacted the family selling the pup and without delay we headed north. At this point we had never seen an SLT in the flesh, only photographs. We agreed that, even having driven 200 miles, if we didn’t like what we saw we would come home empty handed. We needn’t have worried. We arrived at Mr & Mrs Hughes’ house and were invited out into the garden where we were greeted by not one but two SLTs, the dog and the bitch. We were both taken by these friendly little dogs and surprised just how similar they looked to Muffin. I wonder now whether Muffin was a pure JRT (if there is such a thing) or whether she was part SLT for I now know that not only did she look similar but her behaviour was also similar.

We drove the 200 miles back to Somerset with our new pup. Bramble had come to Somerset. Nobody locally had heard of the breed. She was called a Jack Russell, a mongrel and even a Shih Tzu. Even the Vets had to add the breed to their data base. My shooting friends despaired that I had got another terrier and that I hoped to work it on pheasant shoots. Training started straight away. The first week after inoculations I took Bramble out into the fields behind us and fired a box of .410 cartridges into the air. I have always done this as soon as I get a new pup. They soon get used to the bangs and I have never had a gun-shy dog. Basic commands were taught over the next couple of months and all seemed to be going well. Then the problem started. As we walked around the fields about once in every four trips out Bramble would take off. She would ignore the whistle and the voice commands and would disappear out of site. My heart was in my mouth. Would the pup come back? What would she do if she came across a badger set (our whole area is covered in badger sets and it has always been nightmare of mine that one of my dogs would ‘go to earth’ down a set and either not come out or come out with half its face missing).

Bramble always did come back, eventually, but then I had to revert to going back to basic training and even that was on the end of a long piece of rope. I soon realised that was not the best idea and took advice from several people. Eventually, although initially I was far from happy about doing so, I bought a UK legal electric training collar. These are not the nasty ones that can be bought on the internet that almost fry the poor dog but the legal ones which you can set to the lowest level and the dog receives just a small tickle, but enough to remind it. This is also linked with a ‘beeping’ sound and the dog very soon responds to the ‘beep only’ button. Bramble was soon back under control. She now loves her collar and knows if it is put on then she is going working. Bramble is now 95% under whistle control and the ‘beep’ is used for 95 % of the rest of the time. Only if she takes off in pursuit of a deer and heads towards a road is the ‘zap’ button used, but I’m sure that will come in time.

By the time Bramble was 9 months old the Pheasant season was upon us. Those ‘in the know’ had warned me NOT to work a dog too young so Bramble accompanied me on beating days to get used to the other dogs, the sights and the smells but she was always kept on a long extending lead. It was a little frustrating as a cocker, the same age as Bramble, was being used to work on one shoot and seemed to be doing well. I was determined to do the right thing and the interesting thing is that, one year on, the cocker is now ignoring commands and running well ahead of the beating line. The owner is now having to revert to a training collar out of desperation.

During the second summer Bramble accompanied me every day for up to half an hour in the fields behind us. Sometimes we just walked and did some training and sometimes I would take a gun. I had her retrieving some pheasant wings that I had kept but she totally ignored pigeon wings. We then moved on to shooting rabbits. Small rabbits she would readily retrieve but some of the large ones were too heavy and bramble would resort to dragging them back. Retrieving was still not 100% but it was pretty good. Amazingly I found that if I sat for 10 to 15 minutes at dusk waiting for rabbits to emerge then Bramble would sit by me. This dog had patience!

Eventually, at the age of 21 months the Pheasant season came round again. This would be Bramble’s first one as a ‘working’ dog. Armed with the whistle and the training collar Bramble and I set off on several shoots. Some we beat on and one I shot on. When beating Bramble would readily ‘flush’ birds but surprisingly, when I was shooting and standing outside of the woods, Bramble would stand with me watching the sky avidly for any signs of emerging birds. She soon learnt to identify game birds and ignored things like blackbirds. Then she learned to detect when a bird had been hit and not bother fruitlessly chasing unshot birds across open fields.

Another surprise came early on in the season. A pigeon flew out and was shot, but it flew on for a long way down the valley. Bramble took off. Having ignored all of the pigeon wings the previous summer I knew that she would not retrieve this hit bird. I was wrong for she came back with it in her mouth and handed it over. And so the season went on. This little dog soon learnt to flush well and to retrieve. The retrieving is still not 100% but it is still early days. On a ‘beaters day’ at the end of the season four shot pheasants landed close to me. Bramble retrieved three of them but would not bring back the forth. She just rolled it over and left it. Why?

And what of my shooting friends? They are certainly not laughing now. Having seen Bramble work there is a deafening lack of criticism. Despite being told that a terrier is bound to yap when working she works in total silence.

Quietly one or two of them have told me that I must be very pleased with Bramble’s performance in her first working season. That is praise indeed. What of the future?

Bramble was mated to one of Leon Robinson’s dogs, Buster, and in late June 2 dog pups were born. They are lovely looking pups, both with white bodies, one with a black head and tail and the other with a brown head and tail. We were hoping for a bitch so that we could keep one back, but I don’t think keeping entire mother and son would work, so we’ll try again next year. The first thing was to get the pups docked and dew clawed. Our normal vets will not do it, despite me offering shotgun and firearms licences but I found another local vet who was happy to help and at 6 weeks he will also chip them. For now we are enjoying having the pups which have just opened their eyes and hopefully soon will start on solid food.

Bramble still has some points to learn or improve upon but I am pleased with her progress so far. Personally I can see a real future for this breed as gundogs. I have always been concerned about terriers going to earth in my area because of the numbers of badgers. Badgers will kill or badly wound a terrier and I have no wish for any dog of mine to end up like that. I know that ‘the willingness to go to earth’ is seen by some as a ‘desirable characteristic’, but for me I see the future in working above ground.

It is still early days but Bramble is certainly the most controlled terrier that I have owned, the most adaptable and the most patient. She is a wonderful family member and proved to be an excellent mother. It will be interesting to see how, with time, her wisdom and experience moulds her. It will also be interesting to see how she works with another SLT when we eventually get one to keep.

Colin Williams

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